How Transfer to List ID and New Status work when moving callbacks

Callbacks Bulk Move does two distinct things to each matched record: it relocates the underlying Lead to a new list, and it can optionally update the lead's status code at the same time. These two actions are controlled by separate fields — Transfer to List ID and New Status. Getting them right matters because they touch different database tables and have different effects on how the dialer treats those leads going forward. A move without a status update might leave a lead in a confusing state; a status update applied incorrectly can cause the destination Campaign to mishandle those contacts entirely. This post walks through how each field works and how to use them together correctly.

What Transfer to List ID does

Transfer to List ID is the destination for the move. You enter the numeric ID of the Lead list where the matched callbacks should land. When the operation runs, VICIdial updates the list membership for each qualifying lead record in the vicidial_list table, then removes those leads' entries from the vicidial_callbacks table. The lead data itself — phone number, custom fields, call history, and notes — is not touched. Only the list assignment changes. Because the callbacks table entry is removed as part of the operation, the lead no longer appears as a pending callback after the move. It sits in the new list as a regular Lead and will be worked under whatever dialing rules and Lead filter settings the destination campaign applies to that list.

flowchart LR
  A[Matched callback records] --> B[Update vicidial_list: new list ID]
  A --> C{New Status set?}
  C -->|Yes| D[Update vicidial_list: new status code]
  C -->|No| E[Status code unchanged]
  A --> F[Remove rows from vicidial_callbacks]
  B --> G[Lead now in destination list]
  D --> G
  E --> G
  F --> H[No longer a pending callback]

What New Status does

New Status is optional. If you fill it in, VICIdial applies that Disposition code to every matched lead in the vicidial_list table as part of the same operation. This only affects vicidial_list — the callbacks table entries are still removed by the transfer step regardless of whether you set a New Status. The field is valuable when you want the destination campaign to distinguish moved callbacks from native leads in that list. For example, if you move overdue callbacks to a re-engagement list and set New Status to a custom code like "STALE", the destination campaign can configure its Lead filter to show agents only leads with that code, making the re-engagement workflow clear without any manual sorting.

Step by step

1. Build your filter on the Callbacks Bulk Move page — choose campaigns, lists, agents, and any optional day-range criteria.
2. In the Transfer to List ID field, enter the numeric ID of the destination list. Confirm the list exists and is already associated with the campaign that should work these leads next.
3. If you want to relabel the leads, type a valid status code into the New Status field. If you leave it blank, the leads retain whatever status code they carried before the move.
4. Confirm the move. After it completes, check the row counts on both the source and destination lists to make sure the numbers match what you intended.

How they interact and common pitfalls

The most frequent mistake is moving leads to a new list without setting an appropriate New Status, leaving them with a Called status that still looks like an active callback code to the destination campaign's logic. Some campaigns are configured to treat leads with callback statuses as entries waiting to be rescheduled rather than as fresh contacts to dial. If the destination campaign has that logic and you move leads in with their original callback status intact, those leads may never enter the normal dialing pool. Setting a non-callback New Status as part of the move prevents that situation cleanly.

A secondary pitfall is using New Status without a Transfer to List ID. The field behavior in that scenario depends on which VICIdial version you are running — some versions apply only the status change and do not move the leads, while others may reject the form entirely. Always supply both fields when you intend a full relocation. If you only want to relabel leads without moving them, verify that behavior is supported on your version before relying on it in production. For a broader walkthrough of how these controls fit into the full workflow, read our post on how Callbacks Bulk Move works end to end. The VICIdial admin bulk tools guide covers how all the bulk operations relate to each other.

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